All characters belong to the creators of "Lego Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu." I got the idea for the chapter title from Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus book series. He always came up with funny titles that caught my attention because they turned my head. So, I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 17

Death, Dragons, and the Red Wacko

Bone scraped against bone as Garmadon's undead soldiers searched for the Scythe of Quakes. Four watchtowers stood at the perimeter, along with an extra one to keep an eye on the workers. Kai gagged on the stench of rotten flesh.

"All right, everyone. Our first objective is to find that map. Then, we can find the Scythe before they do." Kai rolled his eyes; Cole's can-do attitude really got on his nerves. Cole's prattling became background noise as Kai noticed a rather odd-looking skeleton in the central watchtower. He squinted harder. The skeleton, big, tall and nasty, appeared to be a grotesque abomination of a man (if he could even be called that). And... were those... four arms? Kai shook his head. The skeleton was gone, retreated to the recesses of his small tower. Wu's voice brought him back to reality.

"Remember, do not use the Scythe. No one-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah - we don't want to give away our position. Alright, guys - let's chop-saki this lemonade stand." Jay said.

"Um... where is Kai?" Zane's question left them looking around for their teammate. The last thing Cole remembered was seeing a flash of red sneaking its way into the central watch tower.

Cole was gonna kill him. Here they were, running from a giant dragon, and Kai's best idea was to do exactly what Sensei Wu had told them NOT to do. Yeah, smart move, genius. On the brighter side of things, at least they had unlocked Spinjitzu. Whoopee.

"Look out!" Jay's shriek had Cole's legs moving before he knew what he was doing. Rolling to the side, his heart stopped as he saw the dragon bite down on where he had just been standing.

"Hey, you overgrown lizard! Over here!" The creature looked in Kai's direction. Holding the Scythe high, Kai made good on his notion and swung. A shrill scream erupted from Jay as the cavern began to collapse around them.

"WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!"

Looking back on it now, Cole thought that death wouldn't have been the worst thing. At least, not compared to the look Sensei Wu was giving them.

"What were you thinking?! I told you not to use the Scythe!"

"We were gonna be eaten!" Kai argued.

"Sensei, with all due respect, Kai's got a point. We were almost dragon chow!" Jay shrieked. Wu's brows furrowed. Cole decided it was up to him to keep the peace.

"We're sorry, Master. It won't happen again." He bowed as he spoke, eyes closed and hands by his sides - a sign of respect to their frazzled master. Wu sighed.

"Maybe next time, you will do better. Until then... get some sleep. We'll head for the Shurikens of Ice first thing tomorrow." Wu made his way to his sleeping bag.

The fire crackled in the ensuing silence.

"Sensei... what was that one skeleton? The one with four arms?" Kai asked. Everyone looked at the old man. Wu lowered himself slowly to the ground, taking his essential teacup into his hands.

"Samukai, King of the Underworld."

"But, wait, I thought Garmadon was King of the Underworld?" Jay said.

"No, not originally. Samukai was a general in Ninjago's armed forces. When he died, he awoke as a Skulkin in the Underworld. It was he who united all of the undead to make his own twisted army."

"But, why do they take orders from Garmadon? Didn't he get banished there?" Zane asked.

"I... I don't know. I can only assume that Samukai won't settle for being a slave for long."

Samukai screamed. Papers flew onto the floor. Garmadon had him working his soldiers like dogs. Granted, he'd seen worse. Heck, he'd lived worse. Still...

He smiled. If Garmadon was going to work his soldiers into the ground, he should get something out of it.